E-learning and Online Education

What this page covers

The resources here look at how teaching and learning work when they move online. Many are mind maps. The eLearning Design map breaks down multimedia ideas such as clarity, redundancy and combining graphics with audio or text. Others look at blended learning, flipped classrooms, MOOCs, virtual learning environments and online communities.

Where to start

Begin with a broad map. Online Teaching and Learning links testing, collaborative learning, problem-based learning and reflective practice. Teaching and Learning at a Distance covers motivation, organization, time management and feedback, and looks at the eInstructor and the eLearner. There is also a note made from that map, which gives you the same ideas in sentences.

Next, choose a theme:

• Blended learning: try the Blended Learning mind map, then the slide set The Dynamic of a Blended Learning Process, and compare it with the maps on flipped learning.
• Communities online: read the map on building communities of inquiry, then look at the Community of Inquiry flowchart.
• Adapting for learners: open the map on differentiating for elearners, which covers the learning environment, process and product.

Using quizzes and maps together

There are only a small number of quizzes, so use them as checks. Read a map first, then take Blended Learning Quiz or the quiz on online interaction. Look at what you missed and go back to the matching branch of the map. The flashcard decks, such as Advantages and disadvantages of online learning and Role of Effective Online Instructor, suit short, repeated sessions.

Where this fits

This unit sits in the strand Teaching Methods and Classroom Practice, within Education and pedagogy. Most resources suit university students, and teachers can use them as a quick overview of online methods.

Next step

Pick one map that matches your current reading, work through it, and then make your own version in your own words.